


The One With Animal Crossing

by Skysquid22



Series: The One With... [2]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Animal Crossing - Freeform, Fluff, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 12:57:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10101749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skysquid22/pseuds/Skysquid22
Summary: Rafael Barba likes Animal Crossing (and Carisi)Sorry, kinda crap at summaries.





	

**Author's Note:**

> My second fic of 'The One With..." series. This took me like a week to do. Hope you enjoy it, leave tips on how I can improve my writing in the comments. 
> 
> I can also write one more chapter of this if you guys want so tell me if you want more of this one. Also got some more fics queued, I just have to write them.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading!

“Well now we wait for the jury, with a case like this I’m betting a few hours.” Barba said aloud, strolling over to where Carisi was sitting on the bench right outside the courtroom. “The vic’s credibility was shot but, there’s still a chance---what are you doing?”

Looking down at Carisi, Barba can see he was engrossed in some type of game on a handheld device. Not his phone though. It was larger than that and it was red. Barba sat down next to Carisi who didn’t seem to register anything what Barba said. He felt kinda jealous of the thing.

“Carisi?”

Carisi finally took his eyes off the device and did a small double take in Rafael’s direction. He then closed it with a satisfying ‘snap’ sound.

“Hi counselor.” He realized his unprofessionalism and placed his open hand on the small of his neck. “Uhh, sorry about that got kinda carried away there.” He cleared his throat and removed his hand. “Anyway you were saying?” He turned to face Barba.

Rafael chose not to say anything for a moment. The silence became awkward. “Ok Carisi. As I was saying.” Barba trailed off that sentence. “I think the jury isn’t going to be out that long. We hard evidence that---stop fidgeting.”

His left hand that was caressing the appliance suddenly stopped. He was quick to apologize. “Sorry counselor, just got a new game and can’t seem to stop playing it. And yeah, the vic’s testimony could still sway some juor---”

“What game are you playing?”

Barba’s not sure what compelled him to ask that question. Maybe he wanted to find out what was taking Carisi’s concentration away. Branching off of that jealousy he supposes. Carisi seems a little surprised at that question. He fidgets more and averts his gaze from Barba’s compelling stare. 

“Well I bought a 3DS recently and I figured I’d bring it during any breaks I have.” He put the accessory away in his left pocket. “So I can play it during my downtime.” He shrugs. “I was playing Animal Crossing.”

Interesting to say the least. Barba knew from his many conversations with Liv that Carisi was interested in video games. Personally Rafael couldn’t care less. It’s not that he’s played video games and didn’t like them, it’s that he’s never had the time. Never had the chance as a child. Never had the opportunity as an adult. 

Barba takes a look at his watch, he has an hour. Normally Rafael would take any chance to minimize the amount of time he has with Carisi but, today he’s feeling unusually generous. And jealous. Only how do you introduce that kind of conversation? What do you say to get interested in a coworkers hobbies when you are usually don’t give a damn? Barba would always tease him for his oversharing and here he’s advocating it. Guess you’ll just have to wing it.

“I have some time to kill Carisi. Tell me all about it.”

Ok that was completely out of left field. Carisi didn’t think Barba cared. Well he actually doesn’t, he just said that he has some extra time to fill and wants to maybe listen to something else other than witness statements and Liv’s nagging. Probably. Maybe he’s trying to get more ammo to tease him with. But he’ll comply anyway. He thrives off the snarky remarks and subtle compliments Barba throws at him. 

“Well, you sure? Where do I start?” 

“Start with telling me more about the game Carisi.”

Sonny licks his lips and starts. “Animal Crossing is about you, your character which you can customize, moving to a town full of talking animals. And you just live your life in that village, constructing buildings, catching fish and bugs, and planting flora. That’s about it.”

A game about life? Barba smirks, “Why would you want to play a game where you plant flowers?”

Sonny smiles. “Well it’s not just that, you have a house that you can get furniture for and pay your mortgage on. You can also hunt for fossils too.” 

Barba shows a rare smile. “Now why would you play a game where you pay mortgage?” He scoffs.

Carisi chuckles at that. “Heh, well it’s just fun to play. It takes place in real time too. So different hours and seasons will grant you stuff you can only find at that time. Think as it a home away from home. Plus you got your animal neighbors which become your close friends who give you gifts. 

“If I ever find myself with extra time I’ll take out my 3DS and play it. I also have picked up some other games but, this one is my favorite. And this game is you can just put in your pocket at any time.” He says proudly.

Carisi is really dropping his defences to Barba. He just hopes that Rafael doesn’t completely tease him about it. 

Barba would like to try the game but, that would be kind crossing the line. So instead he says, “Portable and pleasurable. Great. Well go ahead and play I’ll just wait here.” Barba hopes Carisi buys it.

Carisi didn’t buy it. He’s a detective after all, he can tell that Rafael wants to play but, he’s gonna make him ask for it. So instead shifts his body forward, gives one last glance at Barba, and pulls out his 3DS. He leans forward and positions himself in a way that Barba can easily look over his shoulder. Normally he hates people looking over his shoulder but, he’s willing to make a Rafael sized exception. 

Barba decides to put up a cover. He draws out his phone and skims through e-mails and any texts. There’s plenty of business related e-mails to pass around like they're useless, and they’re mostly reminders. There’s a few texts, only one is important though. It’s from Liv.

L: How was the trial?

R: Good. I’m guessing a few hours until jury’s out.

He doesn’t want to give every piece of information right now. He’s gotta look over Carisi’s shoulder. Hopefully he doesn’t mind. 

The man opens up his shiny red 3DS and it resumes to a screen showing a cartoon like character that looks similar to Carisi. He walked around a grassy plain passing by trees, flowers and stopped to talk to one of the villagers. The adorable looking white tiger was named Rolf, they made pleasant conversation and then he took off past a railroad crossing and entered a small street. 

These kinds of activities continued for awhile. He went fishing, bug hunting, dug up fossils, and eventually Barba gained the courage to cross the line. 

“Can I play?” He asked meekly.

Carisi looked back in surprise, like he forgot Barba was there. 

“Uhh, sure. Give me a second.” He turned back to his game, did some inventory clearing and sat up. He carefully gave Barba the device. 

“Calm down Carisi, I’m not gonna drop it.” He gave a strained smile. He’s clearly trying to trust him.

Carisi finally lets go of the 3DS and Rafael takes it in his hands. He moves his character around in circles, getting a feel for it. 

“Alright now you can do al---”

“I’m sure I can figure it out detective.” Barba snaps.

Carisi looks a bit taken back by the sudden sharpness in Rafael’s voice but it doesn’t deter him. He scoots a little closer instead and looks over his shoulder. Barba goes through all the motions of selling, buying, and hunting for fish, bugs, and fossils. On occasion Rafael would ask general questions about the game and how to properly play it. 

An hour came too soon. 

Rafael checks his watch in between selling his load of fish. “Damn, I gotta go.” That’s when Barba realized how close they were sitting. Carisi was squished into his side comfortably, still looking over Rafael’s shoulder. Although he was compromising, positioning the 3DS toward Carisi he was still leaning into Barba.

Carisi realized this as well and immediately and awkwardly scooted away from Rafael’s side. Barba handed back his 3DS and stood up from the bench, buttoning his front coat. 

“Well, goodbye Carisi. Thanks for helping me fill up my time. That was a fun game, I might get it too.” Barba says checking his emails and texts again.

Carisi smiles wide with his dimples. “Goodbye counselor. Maybe we can play again later.”

Barba turns to face Carisi, smiling. He scoffs and turns and walks on toward the elevator.

~

Dammit Carisi. 

That thought can be used to describe a lot of things about him. Damn you Carisi for having the most adorable smile and dimples. Damn you Carisi for always caring about Barba even though most times he doesn’t deserve it. Damn you Carisi for being impervious to Rafael’s borderline insults. And most recently, damn you Carisi for getting Rafael hooked on a video game, of all things.

Barba realized how much free time he actually has after that hour with Carisi. Not big chunks though, not even 10 minutes at the maximum. But, it was enough time to crave Animal Crossing. Damn you Carisi for being alluring enough to get Barba to stay and play that game. Once the trial ended and Rafael bought a 3DS and a copy of Animal Crossing his schedule became even busier. Recess he went fishing for anything that wasn’t a seabass. Taxi rides, Uber rides, or even eventually plane rides on those rare occasions he went and bought even more clothing from Abel Sisters. It all became the time to play Animal Crossing. He was just lucky that it didn’t seem to interfere with work at all. In fact it seemed to help.

Whenever Rafael was stressed, he would pull out his black 3DS to play. It kept him distracted from the unsavory and depressing thoughts he’d sometimes have. Too worried about death threats even though they’ve disappeared? Animal Crossing. Worried about Liv and the crew not being able to find more witnesses? Animal Crossing. The DA breathing down his neck like a familiar overbearing mother? Animal Crossing. Even impure thoughts about Carisi he was able to shut down and manage thanks to that game. 

It seemed to be the perfect stress relief. 

“What are you doing?”

Rafael looked up from his game and was met with Liv’s eyes. Liv’s questioning, confused, entertained eyes. And as well as a bewildered smirk to complete the package. 

“Wasting my free time. You?” Barba quickly closed the lid and hid his device in his beige overcoat. He then stood up from the small bench and walked off, prompting Liv to follow. 

“I’m here to discuss Hall’s lawyer. But I’m more interested in what you were holding there.” Liv asked carefully as always. Rafael ignored her.

“Valentine? He’s quite new. Came from Kansas of all places. Rumor has it that he’s a hard hitter on facts and sorta bends the rules on what qualifies as one. I’d be careful with your witnesses.”

“Well I guess that’s my first question answered, but on to my second. What were you just doing before I interrupted?” Benson asks accusingly. 

Barba can’t believe he finally has to answer that question. He’s been careful not to let his coworkers see him “waste” his time on a video game. He didn’t want to go into a long and awkward conversation about why he was playing it in the first place and  
doesn’t want to explain that Carisi got him to play it in the first place.

“Believe it or not, playing a game. Now was there anything else or…?” He says with urgency. Liv instead raises an eyebrow and asks, “Really? You?” Barba sighs, this is exactly why he avoided this. 

“Huh, I wonder what Carisi will say when I’ll tell him.” Barba tries not to react visibly at the mere mention of Carisi. It’s been getting worse, almost uncontrollable. 

However, Liv caught him. Rafael thinks she might know about his little crush, but whatever reason she hasn’t brought it up. Good for Rafael, but suspicious for Liv. She’d usually would want to know everything she was able to get out of him. Which wasn’t much, but she was willing to take what she could get. Here she knew. She definitely knew.

“Hmm.” She pauses. “Do you want to head out for drinks later? Call it a nightcap.” 

There it is. Here’s her plan to get Barba buzzed and ask him if he has feelings for Carisi. And discover what game he is playing. And recently Barba feels like sharing. 

For some reason.

“Fine. We’ll talk later.” he walks a bit faster away from Liv and incidentally slows down and turns the other way.

~

He hates how snappy he was the other day with Liv, so hopefully with this heart to heart he can apologize. Liv sent him to a small hole in the wall bar far way from the station and the courthouse. This is clearly meant to be a private conversation. So he picks a booth in the far back and pulls out his 3DS. A few minutes later Liv walks in and spots him.

“Alright ready to explain what you’re play’n there?” Liv smiles and sits down. Barba puts away his game and says, “In a bit. But first I need to apologize for how cross I was acting the other day.” Despite popular opinion, Barba is capable of saying sorry.

Liv waves her hand in dismissal. “That’s not necessary Barba. I did kinda push you a bit too hard on that subject. And I didn’t actually tell Carisi. I was just joking, but I should have know not to poke the bear.” 

The bear being Rafael of course. She knows about his crush.

“What subject should we talk about first? Carisi or the fact you’re playing video games now?” 

Barba smirks into his bourbon. “I’ll let you choose.”

She smiles and orders a wine. “So, you wanna bang Carisi?”

Barba chokes on his drink and coughs out, “Wow, straight to the point aren’t you?”

“I am but, you’re certainly not.” 

Smartass.

“Yeah but you already knew that didn’t you? Any yeah I… I-”

“Like Carisi?”

He doesn’t really know what else to say so he nods. Really doesn’t know when it all started, it’s just that over time he realized that he wondered what else those lips could do other than smile. 

“Look I’ll spare you for now, but realize I will be teasing you about this.”

“It’s all apart of the job.” He smiles.

She sips at her wine. “Now are you gonna tell me what you we’re playing there?”

Rafael let a breath of air pass through his teeth. He pulls out his new, black, 3DS, opens it and scoots closer to Liv. It was nowhere near as close as he was with Carisi. He kinda misses that touch. 

“Animal Crossing, uhh, Carisi kinda got me into it.” She snorts but, waits for Barba to continue. “I was bored after the Westler trial went to deliberating. Found Carisi on the bench playing, I had an hour to kill so I watched him play. And, I ended up played some as well.”

She smiles. “So, he got you hooked huh?” Barba closes his eyes and nods. “What’s next huh? Can I expect to see you in the future going to a game convention with him on date?”

“Fat chance. Consider this therapy Liv. This game has been keeping me from getting too distracted at work. It’s stress relief, it’s nice.” He defends. 

“So instead of actual therapy from an doctor with a medical degree, you’ll be playing a video game Carisi recommended you?” She pauses in consideration. “You know that might not be a bad idea. Maybe I will tell Carisi.”

“No!” He shouts a little too loudly. Barba looks around and silently apologizes for the outburst. “No… Don’t do that. I don’t want Carisi to get the wrong idea.”

“I think deep down you do. Want him to get the wrong idea. But, I’ll be kind. You’re an adult, you can handle your feelings, right?” She says teasingly.

Perhaps she’s right. Maybe deep down Barba wants Carisi to know that he likes him. Likes him. What a childish way to explain it. But, he doesn’t want to say the ‘l word’. God. And he’s supposed to be an adult. For now though, Rafael is confident in keeping this a one sided crush. Crush. What is he, 10 years old? Next he’s gonna be embarrassed about holding hands.

Wait, he is. Dammit!

He has no problem with the smuttier side of mind apparently. That part is certainly not embarrassed.

Barba realizes that he still hasn’t answered Liv. “Yeah, sure.”

They leave the conversation at that and move on to work related talk, more about his game, people in the DA’s office, and other coworkers. 

~

Rafael sat in his office cleaning up and writing notes for next week. It was almost midnight and sure, he’s been at the office at later hours before, but tonight was especially slow. Easy and boring. He just spent the past 12 hours finishing paperwork from the previous day’s case. At last he was finally done organizing. Barba pulls out his 3DS, he’ll catch up a bit in Westwood and then leave.

A knock at the door. He’d already dismissed Carmen so she’s not here to vet the visitor outside his door, patiently waiting to be let in. But, first he’s gotta finish his conversation with Freckles. 

“Hey Barba you still in---” 

He cuts himself off once he sees that a relaxed Barba with his feet up on his desk, playing on a 3DS. 

“Wow, I thought you were joking with me when you said you’d get it.” He smiles and looks away awkwardly like he caught Barba in a conversation. Which he did.

“Not a problem detective,” He puts away his device. “Is there anything you need?”

“Well, there’s still some leftover papers from the case yesterday,” He checks his watch, “Erm, Thursday.” He corrects himself. “But, it can wait can’t it? Here I’ll just leave these here…” He tries to place the small folder on Barba’s desk, but he’s got his legs in the way. So instead Carisi changes course for the back table. Rafael puts down his legs and his 3DS and sits up a little.

There’s no way Carisi came out of his way on a Friday night just to drop off a folder filled with 4 papers. There’s gotta be something more than that. Maybe he had a plan but chickened out.

“That folder has papers I could get Monday, doesn’t it?” He doesn’t wait for his answer. “Why are you here Carisi?”

Carisi looks something akin to a child getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He starts fidgeting and stammering, trying to explain himself. “Well, uhm, look.” He puts his hand around his neck and sighs.  
“Honestly, I was wondering if you would like to get a drink.”

That’s it? Barba half smiles and half smirks. “You do realize you could have asked me without the show right?” 

Carisi smiles and says, “Yeah well I did need to get you these papers eventually.” He shrugs “I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone.”

Right.

Smooth cover Carisi, you almost hid the fact that you were too nervous to ask a coworker out for drinks.

Wait.

Rafael wants to think it, hell he wants to believe it but, this is Carisi. He’s straighter than a ruler, he can’t be possibly be asking for more, although that would explain how afraid he seemed to ask to share a drink. Barba shakes his head. A drink couldn’t hurt right?

“Ok I was finishing up anyway so we can go right now.” Carisi gives a wide smile at that. Barba grabs his coat and they walk out of the building.

Carisi leads them to some local bar, not a cop bar though. Barba orders a whisky and Carisi orders a beer. 

“So counselor,” He pauses and Rafael assumes it was for dramatic effect. “Did you seriously get a 3DS?”

Barba takes a sip of his drink. “Yeah I did. I got a copy of Animal Crossing too.”

Carisi smiles into his beer and takes a big swig. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why would I tell anyone?”

Carisi nods. “Good point.”

They stay silent for several minutes, but the quietness isn’t awkward. Quite the contrary, it’s nice and the background noise of the bar turns into white noise. They can only hear each other, peacefully taking drinks of their alcohol. They order more and more and they start conversation on Rafael’s progress through the game. Then they move to the much more broader topic of work. They both purposely avoid talking about their personal lives. 

It was only a matter of time before they get drunk.

And unfortunately he is a clingy drunk. He tries with all his willpower not to touch Carisi. Meanwhile Carisi is a quiet and somber drunk, he’s probably going to fall asleep at any moment. So Barba keeps him talking.

“So, uhm, have you been doing anything recently?” He tries to keep the conversation light and non-personal. 

“Mhm.” Carisi doesn’t even open his mouth. Rafael really wants to open that mouth, preferably with is tongue. But, gotta focus on making Carisi talk. 

Barba tilts his head and leans in closer. The urge to touch Carisi becomes almost unbearable. Carisi turns and looks him in the eye, still silent. 

“How’s your life?” What kind of question is that? And wasn’t he avoiding personal questions? Carisi doesn’t seem to react at all though. Barba frowns. He reacts at that. His eyes go to Rafael’s lips.

He knows he’ll regret this. But he doesn’t care. And neither does Carisi apparently. 

They lean closer and closer. They adjust their bodies so their thighs are smash up together. Barba can smell his cologne and the beer perfuming off of him. He’s now looking into Carisi’s blue eyes and the light from the dim bar casts him in a pale light, his hair looks grey, but certainly not a bad way. No, not a bad way at all. Finally Carisi takes the leap. 

The kiss is soft, sweet, and fleeting. He breaks the kiss and leans back a bit and looks into Rafael’s eyes, looking for a sign not to go forward. He doesn’t get a chance to go back in before the urge to kiss and touch Carisi becomes too great. Rafael rushes to close the gap and immediately deepens the kiss. Carisi instantly responds, licking Rafael’s bottom lip and he eagerly opens his mouth to let Carisi’s tongue in. Barba’s hands leave his whisky and goes to Carisi’s arms, torso, and his head, pulling at the hair. 

Carisi moans at the pull and gets even closer. Rafael thanks god that they are at an unfamiliar bar. No judging looks from people except those who are homophobic. Lucky, no one interrupts. Barba’s wild hands lead to his thighs. Carisi breaks the kiss and finally breaths. “You wanna get outta here?”

Barba readily nods and goes back in for another makeout session. Carisi stands them up, pays, and grabs their coats. He hooks a arm around Rafael and in return he puts one around his waist. It kinda looks like they are a couple. 

It hits Rafael like a ton of bricks when he realizes that he wants that. He doesn’t want this to be a one night stand, he doesn’t want to go to work and pretend this never happened. He doesn’t want that. He wants to wake up to Carisi after tonight. He wants to kiss Carisi again. He wants to call him Sonny. He wants to fall---No. He has fallen in love with him. 

Maybe this isn’t a good idea. 

But he’s too much of a coward to confront Carisi about this. He has too much pride.

So Carisi calls a cab and they go over to Rafael’s place.

~

When Rafael wakes up the next morning Carisi isn’t there. Sunlight filters through his dark grey curtains and onto his king sized bed. He flips around and grabs for the empty imprint of Carisi’s body. Rafael gets up and gets water and a aspirin. He’d never took Carisi to be the one to bail after a night like that. 

To be fair he had always given the impression that he doesn’t care. And for the most part they are right. But, not with Carisi, Rafael truly cares about him. He wants to take care of him, he wants be with him. 

Rafael has always been a romantic, it’s just that no one was there to observe. He gets in the shower and thinks about how he can solve his predicament. Go and confront him? When? Where? How would he react? That was the big problem, what if it was just a mistake for Carisi? What if it was just a fling for him, a stress reliever? 

As soon as he gets out of the shower he grabs his 3DS and plays Animal Crossing.

When he gets back to the station days later to get briefed on a case, Carisi actively avoids his eyes. He doesn’t talk longer than needed and he doesn’t even try and gain Barba’s approval anymore. Well he did finally get his approval after all, last weekend. He doesn’t need it anymore. Barba never realized how much he missed his sparring with Carisi. Pun intended, Sonny makes his life sunny. He’s going to miss him.

He needs to fix this, before people start to notice. 

Liv can’t know. Before he had a crush on Carisi, now he’s in love with him. At least he can admit it now. But, first game plan. Get him isolated as soon as possible. Right now he should be paying attention to the case but he can brief himself later. Once that finishes, Liv orders Fin and Rollins to go talk to a witness. Yes, now’s his chance. But, then Liv starts to say something.

“Carisi can I see you for a moment?” Rafael cuts Liv off before she finishes her sentence.

Carisi looks fearful for a moment then realizes that Liv is there. Then he looks professional.

“Yes of course Barba.” All stern and cold. Barba doesn’t fall for it for a second. Barba leads them to the hallway that connects the bullpen to the entrance. 

Barba gets straight to the point. “Look if you’re going to sleep with me can you at least act like you used to, before Friday?”

Carisi pauses. He wants to play dumb. “Alright look,” He runs a hand through his gelled hair. “I didn’t mean to be rude. I just suddenly didn’t know how to act around...you…” He trails off once he realizes what he just said.

Act around Barba? He forgot, so he thought that he completely ignored Barba all this time? Barba was still trying to figure it out when Sonny attempts to explain himself. 

“Uhh, look I’ll do my best not to be as awkward next time, ok? Maybe we can forget about it, uhm, do...you… wanna play uhh, Animal Crossing…?”

Cringy as hell but, at least he’s trying to patch things up. It hurts Rafael’s heart that he wants to forget that night though. But, fine, Barba will make an attempt to restore their relationship, whatever it may be. 

Barba sighs. “Ok fine, if I have any extra time later today we can play Animal Crossing.” God this is so weird.

Carisi smiles wide. “Ok that’s fine. Text me whenever. Uhh, see you around Barba.” He then power walks away, avoiding any more conversation.

Well, that was about the worst conversation he’s had recently. Not only did he admit that he doesn’t want any kind of romantic relationship with Barba he fell even farther for him. How is that possible? Anything does now is considered ‘cute’. The way he smiles with his dimples showing. (Although he already knew that before.) The way he gestures wildly with his hands, in full Italian mode. The way he never seems to shut up about his family, except when he’s only around Barba. The way he always bickers with him. The way he awkwardly stammered in that last conversation. 

God he’s such a sap. 

~

Carisi acts fairly normally from then on out. He’s still not the same as he was, he doesn’t share as much and he doesn’t quarrel with him as much. So that’s bad, but ever since that offer to have Carisi play Animal Crossing with him he’s can’t stop thinking about it. Or him. He should take him up on it.

Rafael was getting his town ready for Sonny’s arrival when a knock graced his office door. It was around 9 o’clock. The door opened and Carisi walked in a gave a short hello. They both avoided the subject of how he was acting. Barba then let him into his Animal Crossing town a minute later. 

“Westwood huh? Cool name.” Carisi muses.

“Syzygy? Wow, you are a nerd.” He scoffs. Carisi smiles at the fact he just got called a nerd by Rafael Barba.

After setting up they went down to the docks and boarded Kapp'n’s boat. They spent the next hour on the island fishing for sharks and rare fish and hunting for expensive bugs. It was a nice and relaxing night, he even shared some of his office bourbon with him. Overall it was calming, it gave the past few weeks a nice finish. 

“Hey I’m glad we did this, it was nice.” Carisi says sleepily.

Barba nods. “Walk you out?” He agrees.

They stroll side by side to the outside of the courthouse, their arms lightly brushing past each other. 

“Hey see you tomorrow, ok?” Carisi breaths. He looks at the taxi for a moment then quickly turns back to Barba. “Do you wanna share a taxi?”

Barba knows where this is going and he should stop it before it goes on too far. But, he has it bad and he wants it badly, so he’s going to make an attempt to discuss his feelings tonight. “Nightcap?” Sonny considers this for a moment. “Alright sure.”

They get into the taxi that has too much sexual tension in it. Carisi gives a address to a place he’s not familiar with. The car drives further and further away from Manhattan, they’re heading into Staten Island. Why would Sonny give the address for a bar all the way ou--- 

It’s not a bar.

It’s his house. 

This is a really bad idea. But, he made a promise to himself, even if he ends up drunk again, Carisi needs to know how he feels. God it’s going to be awkward when they get back to work. 

The pair have a sorta nervous energy about them as they walk up to Carisi’s building. He momentary fumbles with his keys before letting them in. Of course Carisi takes upon himself to let Rafael in first. 

Entering the apartment he could see that it’s a lot nicer than what he would have expected. It’s clean and almost everything is put away and in proper order. It’s like he was expecting Barba. He doesn’t think on this thought too long before Carisi breaks out the alcohol. It’s red wine this time. Carisi tells him to make himself comfortable which he gladly accepts, he takes off his overcoat and his coat jacket. Now he’s only in his vest. He sits down at table as soon as Sonny comes in with the wine. 

He sits adjacent from Barba, he’s close but not that close. Barba’s 3DS lies on the counter in front of them. They’re quiet, Rafael can hear the cars and general city noise from a open window Barba had somehow missed Carisi opening. 

What the hell is Barba doing here? Oh that’s right, confess his attraction to the man sitting a foot away from him. He shouldn’t have agreed to this. But, he doesn’t have the heart to leave and getting a bit tipsy could help with that process.

“Want to talk about anything?” Carisi asks. Well, this is his chance but, he’s still not drunk enough. And he sure as hell does not want to talk about work or Animal Crossing. He finishes his glass of wine. It was half full. He nods, “I think we have to,” Barba swallows. “Talk about it.”

Carisi takes a big over dramatic sigh, it seems fitting. “Yeah I guess we do.” He stays quiet for a moment. “So…”

Oh my god, he doesn’t have all day. Barba’s about to interject but, he manages to finish his sentence. “Do you regret it?”

What kind of question is that? Is that implying that he doesn’t? He still isn’t drunk enough for this. He decides to be honest.

“No.” He says simply. Carisi’s eyes go wide and he stammers out, “W-Wait what?”

Now it was Barba’s turn to look confused. Did he think that Rafael regretted it? What gave him that idea?

“I-I don’t understand I thought you…” He stammers, fiddling with his glass.

“Didn’t like me?” Barba finishes.

Sonny nods, “I thought Friday was just a stress reliever for you, I was just there at the right time and the right place and I thought that you’ve regretted it ever since---”

“What gave you the idea that I didn’t enjoy it or even regret it?” Barba accuses.

He now looks bewildered, “You told me to basically to stop acting weird about it, I thought you were covering your tracks.”

Barba shakes his head he can’t believe this. “You weren’t acting yourself, I thought that you regretted it and was acting so skittish because of it.”

“I was acting skittish?” He shakes head and actually stops and thinks about his actions. While Carisi does that Rafael does the same. When he said he didn’t know how to act around Barba anymore he was admitting that he had new feelings for Barba and Rafael didn’t even realize it. And Barba was acting all confident so Carisi got the impression that he didn’t care about him.

It all makes sense. Carisi likes Barba, but to what extent is now the problem. 

“You thought I didn’t like you.” 

Carisi perks his head at that. “Wait, you do?”

Well the secret is out now. “Yes, honestly I’ve had a thing for you for awhile now.” Barba scratches his neck. “I suppose I was in denial about the whole thing and just assumed you were straight.”

Carisi is quick to correct, “Well I am straight. But, well…”

“But it’s just me?” Barba finishes and smirks.

He blushes and looks away. “Yeah, I guess so.” 

They keep quiet for a minute, reminiscing on the past few weeks and months. Finally Barba speaks up.

“So.” He sighs, “What do we do from here?”

Silence once again takes hold of the conversation. Barba takes a sip at his wine. “I could stay the night.” He asks like it’s no big deal. Carisi shoots a questioning look at him. 

“Are you sure?” He looks more confident than he has all night. That realization makes Rafael’s chest warm. And Barba is tipsy, not drunk. There’s no excuse now and Carisi was going lighter on the alcohol too. 

Carisi turns to face Barba, and Barba does not want to deal with Carisi’s stalling and setting the mood bullshit right now. Barba leans in and grabs his face, the man looks toward Rafael’s hands for a moment then turns back to Barba’s glare. They both veer into the kiss, lips locking and they won’t let go. Except of course Carisi does.

“You know you look hot in that vest.”

Compliments. Nice, those are allowed. Barba brings his face back in for more and smiles into the next kiss. Carisi tugs at his vest.

 

Barba wakes up to the sound of a shower running. He’s groggy and disoriented and he doesn’t even want to open his eyes. So he uses his other senses instead.

The sheet are soft and fuzzy. He’d expect no less from Sonny. His chest is flat down on the mattress and his head is smashed into the equally as soft pillow. He moves his head a little and takes a breath of air. The bedroom smells like clean linen. He finally opens his eyes, the view is half obscured by the pillow but he can see the nightstand. On it is small nick-nacks and what not. No lamp or clock. The room is still fairly dark, must still be early. He can see his and Sonny’s clothes strew across the floor, leading around the bed and most likely into the hallway.

From Barba’s position he can also see a window. Dim light and cool air filters through, blowing the drapes away from the stil. It’s a very peaceful and relaxing scene but, he has to get up and check the clock. It is a work day after all. Rafael rolls over, pulling up the comforter a bit more to cover his cold naked body. He strains his eyes to look at the clock on Sonny’s nightstand. 5:24 am. 

Barba then hears the shower go off in the master bath, he looks past the footboard to see the door to the bathroom. It has a ring of yellow light surrounding the edges. Maybe he could get away with sleeping a bit longer. He buries his head further into the pillow. Rafael then realizes if he should leave before Sonny gets out of the shower. It would be rude to do that, even though Sonny did it to him it’s different now, they are… well what are they exactly? 

That’s when Sonny decides to come out of the shower, the bright light momentary blinds Barba but he uses his one eye to watch Carisi take a left from the bathroom door and turn to his dresser to get clothes. He’s only wearing a towel around his waist. Then he walks over to the side of the bed, Rafael pretends to be asleep but he’s not sure why he does it. He’s acting like a child who doesn’t want to go to school. Humiliation aside he can hear Sonny walk away and out the bedroom door only to come back scribble something on a piece of paper and heads to the bathroom once more and shuts the door. 

Well, now what? He weighs his options. Barba could leave now but, will most likely be intercepted by Sonny and he wants to avoid the awkward conversation that would come of that. So plan B it is. Wait until Sonny leaves for work, read the note, pick up his clothes, and leave. And then what, call him for another date? Date. Huh that word sounds weird now. Kinda like how ‘boyfriend’ sounds weirder now too.

Sonny once again leaves the bathroom, shuts off the light in there, casting the room in darkness except for the light coming for the window, then walks over to the bedroom door and softly closes it behind him. Barba watches him from his pillow outpost. The entire time Carisi’s face looks relaxed, like he’s been doing this for years. He sits up a little and he can hear the front door close as well. Does he not have breakfast in the morning or did he already have it? The chance of coffee wakes Barba up a little more. Ok time to actually get up.

Barba swings his legs around to the edge of the bed and starts to pick up and put back on his clothes. Each piece sends a memory of how it got taken off in the first place. At that thought he can’t help but smile. Once he finishes that Rafael takes a look at the note.

 

Barba, when you are awake there’s some coffee in the coffee pot. It’s probably cold by now but, you can take it upon yourself to make more. Go ahead and eat anything you can find as well. We’ll talk later. See you at work. - Sonny

 

He’s surprised on how nice and blocky the letters are. He’s always thought it would be more like himself, curvy letters even when it’s not cursive. He shakes his head, can’t think too long on how their handwritings are different. 

He then moves toward the kitchen, on the way he steps over Sonny’s displaced clothing. He guess he couldn’t be bothered to bend down a few times just to pick up clothes. When he gets there there is indeed a semi filled coffee pot filled, he then goes searching through the cabinets in search of a cup. Rafael can’t stay at his house forever, he’s got to go home and get ready for work. Luckily he’s supposed to have a slow day today, but that’s no excuse to be late for work. But it’s 6 am. He can spare some of Sonny’s coffee.

He finally finds the shelf with cups. It’s located right next to the oven. Rafael chooses a plain black mug, actively avoiding the cups with writing on them. He never cared for cups like those. He pours himself some coffee and takes a sip, it’s lukewarm. Uhg. It doesn’t taste half bad, but nothing's worse than a cold cup of coffee. Out of courtesy he finishes his cup, and then rises out the pot and cup. Might as well. Barba makes sure that the door is locked when he leaves and then continues to find a taxi at this hour.

~

S: Hey you free tonight?

Another text. Unfortunately for Rafael, the last few days he’s been constantly busy. After the night he stayed at Sonny’s, work has left him no time to do anything. Not even to play Animal Crossing. And every night since then, which has only been 3 days, Carisi has sent a text asking if they want to meet up again. Barba can’t blame him. Once he’s had a taste, and the confusion surrounding them about their relationship, he can’t blame him at all. They need to talk about what ‘this’ is. 

He might be able to make it this time. Willing the DA lets him off the hook.

R: Maybe. Still got a lot of paperwork to do. 

S: Ah well, I know the feeling. I’m still being treated like a newbie here. Paperwork here, paperwork there. 

Barba smiles. Here in his office, finishing paperwork that he’d neglected to do, it’s boring. And Sonny is the perfect distraction. 

R: At least Liv likes working with you. The DA keeps sending interns to do his dirty work. He’s actively avoiding me. 

S: Ha. Well at least you have a quiet office while I’m stuck here trying to do my work. We just busted some low house for trafficking. It’s a zoo here.

Barba never knew how easy it was to talk to Sonny, given this conversation is over text and it’s literally the easiest topic to talk about, complaining about work. Still he can’t wait to see him in person again, he’s getting giddy about it. 

R: I would like to see you tonight. I’ll see what I can do about getting this paperwork done. 

S: Same here. Meet me at my house? Do I need to send you the address? Assuming of course that we both are able to go home tonight. 

R: Do that. And let’s see if we can both work hard to see each other.

~

Luck was on their side after all. Barba hurried through the hard stuff the breezed past the easy signing stuff. Within the hour he was finished. Sonny had said that he would send his address after he took a witness statement. He’s still haven’t gotten back to him. Barba sighs. Well, he could try and wing his address, head home and wait for Sonny’s call but then he might be too exhausted like Barba was for the past few days, or just head over to the station and pick him up. That way they can be exhausted together, better make plans now.

Rafael walks into the bullpen and wow Carisi wasn’t kidding. Prostitutes, johns, and the traffickers themselves are all mulling around the space. Maybe he should have waited a little longer. On the bright side they are being processed quickly and taken down to jail. Oddly quiet for this many people. He doesn’t see a certain blond haired fellow, but he does see a certain blond haired gal walking toward his way. 

“Counselor! What are you doing here? You know you can just wait until a trafficker wants to go to court. We’ll call you.” 

“Duly noted Rollins. Where’s Carisi?”

It’s then that he recognizes that he has no cover for why he wants to see him. 

She raises an eyebrow. “Carisi’s dealing with Liv at the moment.” She clearly also implies the ‘Why do you want to see him?’.

Barba can try to avoid the question as long as he can, but he needs a cover. Something generic. 

“I need to ask him stuff about a case I was assigned, now is he open?” Even if Sonny can’t leave with him tonight, he does need to see him at least once. Just to confirm. Actually maybe coming down here was a bad idea, he’s about to tell Rollins that, but then the man in question walks out with Liv. He looks so stressed and worn out, and then he sees Rafael. His face lights up.

“Oh Barba, what are you doing here?” Liv asks, all business. Barba has kept the fact that he’s sleeping with Carisi a secret from her. He refuses to share anything about him now to her now, he probably shouldn’t do that but, he’ll come clean eventually. She’s slowed down the teasing lately. 

“Can I speak to your detective for a moment?” Barba nods in Sonny’s direction. He gets a look of his face, it’s carefully controlled. He doesn’t want the others to know how overjoyed he is that Barba is there. 

“Go ahead, we are just finishing up here so you can have as long as you like.” She gives a knowing smile. 

Perfect. Barba smiles back and throws a thank you in her direction, already walking away because he knows that Sonny will follow him anywhere. They get to the entrence hallway once again. Hello old friend. 

“Sorry I forgot to give the address, got kinda busy.” He says, his voice full of guilt. 

Barba shakes his head and replies, “Don’t be. I’m here now aren’t I? We can go together if you’d like.”

Sonny turns around and looks toward the bullpen. He meets eyes with Liv and she mouths ‘go’. He gives a warm smile at her. As Rafael watches this entire interaction he reminds himself to come clean to Liv after tonight. 

“So,” Sonny says as he walks them out, “Did you ever get that upgrade to Tom Nook’s shop?”

So they call a taxi and they get in. They pull out their 3DS's and talk aimlessly about villager drama the entire ride to Sonny’s house.

~

When they get to Sonny’s house they put their 3DS’s away and Sonny breaks out the alcohol once again.

“I’m thinking we could wait for a bit before drinks.” Barba barely whispers.

Sonny looks away from the glasses and meets Barba’s eyes. He sets down the drinks and walks toward Barba and crosses his arms. “What is it?”

He sighs and pulls out a chair. “We need to talk about, this.” Barba looks up from his chair.

Sonny breaths through his nose. “Do you,” He licks his lips, Barba’s eyes are naturally draw toward the motion. “Want to be in a relationship?” he asks carefully. 

“Yes.” He answers immediately. “I do. I guess that means we are… boyfriends.” God that sound weird saying aloud. 

Sonny nods. “Yeah I guess we are…” They can’t help but smile at that. 

This conversation is painful. Now with that out of the way. 

“How was your day?” Wow smooth transition Barba. Sonny catches the odd segue and smiles. 

“Not all that bad considering we just saved 14 girls, in one house.” He walks over to the couch and sits down. “But, man am I exhausted.” He rubs his face with his hands.

Barba can’t help but think if that was a not so subtle way of saying ‘Get out’ but Sonny starts to correct himself. 

“Well, I mean, don’t leave. I would like you to stay.” He stammers out. He then hastily adds, “You can even stay the night if you want.”

Despite the fact Carisi most likely has no pajamas let alone regular clothes that would fit him, he is a bit revolted at the fact that he would once again have to wear the same suit again in the morning. He makes a mental reminder to bring a change of clothes next time he visits. 

“Yeah, maybe.” Barba mimics Sonny’s previous motion of running his hands through his face and hair as Sonny reaches for the remote to the tv. 

“Do you want to watch anything?” Sonny asks over his shoulder. 

“I really don’t have a preference.” Barba grabs his 3DS and sits right next to him. 

“How about reruns of X-Files?” Sonny suggested, turning slightly towards Barba. 

“That’s where you got Syzygy isn’t it?” Barba turns toward Sonny, as well.

He chuckles, “Yeah, maybe.” 

Rafael pulls out Animal Crossing, there isn’t much to do at this hour. He has the ‘Keep Westwood Beautiful’ ordinance in effect after all. So he goes bug hunting and talks to Gladys. The episode ends and Sonny excitedly talks more about his favorite episodes from the X-Files. Then Sonny switches to Netflix and throws on his favorite season. 

Ever so slowly Barba and Sonny lean into each other. Their bodies are squashed up together. He’s close enough to kiss his neck with ease. He doesn't though, even if he wants to. Soon enough, Rafael puts his 3DS in his lap and watches the rest of the episode. It’s 1 am. When it ends the ‘Are you still watching?’ message is put up and he’s about to tell Sonny that maybe he should go home and not bother him anymore, but when he shifts his head a little he realizes that Sonny’s head was in the way.

His head is using Rafael’s as a pillow and Barba doesn’t have the heart to wake him up. It’s kind of adorable in a way. Barba’s head can be easily be put in the crook of his neck, but as fun as that would be he’s got two suits to think about. He gently shakes Sonny’s shoulder. 

“Hey Son-Carisi.” He slipped, but the man close to drooling on Barba’s suit was so out of it he didn’t notice. Hopefully. 

The man stirs and says something unintelligible. Barba pulls them both up and he leads him toward the bedroom. Now he has to make an important decision, save the suit or save his pride. He’s only been “boyfriends” with the guy for a week or so. Helping him change out of his suit and into plain pajamas is going to be a disaster. Or he can let Sonny fall asleep in his suit, wrinkling one of his few he owns. Barba actually check’s his closet for his dress, and he was to an extent, right. He’ll feel too guilty if he lets Sonny sleep on the top of his bed like that.

He sighs. Do this quickly and quietly, perhaps Sonny will think it as an odd dream. He searches through his drawers and finds a pair of nightwear for the both of them. 

“Hey, are able to get in some pajamas?” He grunts a little, his eyes are still closed. “Well I’m gonna help you out of your suit and get you into some. You can thank me in the morning.”

Another grunt from Sonny. Barba goes ahead and flips him over so he’s on his back. He starts with the pants first, get that over with. The normally sexully exciting action of taking off a belt and pulling down Sonny’s pants is dulled with the fact he was softly snoring. He then puts on a pair of grey sweatpants on and moves to his coat and shirt. Sonny wakes up a bit more at that and actually attempts to help him out by raising his hands to get his shirt off and on in the first place. 

Soon enough, his suit is replaced with sweatpants and a old t-shirt. Barba then puts his suit up nice and neat. There, his heart is finally at ease. Now, Barba continues to do the same with his own clothes, going as far as to put up his suit on a rack. And he was right in the first place, his makeshift clothes are several sizes too big and they look baggy on him. All well, they’re comfortable.

He forces the covers over Sonny and Rafael saddles up to his side. Looking up he can see Sonny’s peaceful face, the look of someone who was in a deep sleep. Barba closes his eyes and falls asleep to the sound of breathing. 

~

When Barba awoke the next morning he found that sunlight was filtering through the curtains. And that Sonny was on top of him. Sonny’s chest was on Rafael’s left side, his leg doing the same. His right leg was tangled up in his own left leg and Barba’s left arm was completely pinned down by Sonny’s body. Carisi’s left arm and was on Rafael’s right side of his chest and his right was on the other side of the bed. Sonny’s head was also lying in the crook of his neck. He could feel his stubble lightly scratching his collar bone.

This was also one of the few times he’d seen Sonny’s hair in it’s natural state. It was a mess of curls and flattened tufs from sleep. Rafael got an overwhelming urge to run his open hand through the blond-grey mess. Some of his hair was under Barba’s chin so he wouldn’t have full access to the rest of it but that didn’t really matter. He’d definitely take advantage of the fact he was passed out on top of him.

He raises his hand slowly and carefully. He can still hear Sonny softly snoring, his breath warm on Barba’s neck. Rafael runs his hand through once and listens for his breathing patterns. When he wakes up his breathing is going to be different. He does it again and again, going around to the back of his neck, playing with the small curls there. Then up towards his own face, messing a tossing the hair there. This goes on for a bit until the body on top of him stirs a little, not much, he takes a breath and snuggles up even further into Rafael’s neck. He stops his coddling of Sonny’s hair and instead buries his nose into it. His hand retreats down to his back.

“Mhp. Don’t stop. With the hair.” 

Crap. He caught him, how long he was aware of that fact that Rafael caressing was his head is anyone's guess. But, he obliges anyway. Sonny gives a happy sigh once his hand returns to his head. After several minutes Sonny speaks up.

“We should probably get up shouldn’t we?” 

“Yeah, my arm is completely numb by the way.”

Sonny snorts and rolls over, off of Rafael. “There. Better?” He says, yawning mid sentence. Rafael moves his arm a little, trying to get feeling back into it. They both sit up a bit and stretch. Then Sonny looks down at his attire and says, “Hey when did I get into my---oh.” 

He fondles the outfit before turning to face Rafael, he won’t meet his eyes. “I should thank you. I don’t know how many times I’ve fallen asleep in my suits and wrinkled them.” He smiles widely.

Barba smiles back. He can’t help but feel disappointed at the fact that he’s not snuggled up against him anymore. As aforementioned, he’s a romantic. Cuddling, kissing, and cute gestures are all practices he wants to follow and looks to receive. He’s glad he made the right decision. 

“Look it wasn’t much of a problem.” He dismisses because he likes to play hard to get. “You did try and help me after all.” Carisi shakes his head and replies, “I do remember that conversation. Vaguely.”

As they stand up Sonny mentions that he could use his shower and tells him he’s going to make breakfast. But he stops mid sentence and not so subtly look at Rafael’s body up and down. “Like something you see?” Barba smirks. Sonny smirks back and says, “Maybe. You should wear my clothes more often.”

“Like I’d ever wear your suits.” Rafael jabs as he gathers his suit from the closet. 

 

“Hey they aren’t all that bad!” Sonny defends. That reminds him, “Did you dress nicer because of me? Your fashion improved from when we first met.”

Sonny gingerly puts his hand on his neck. “Yeah, more like dressing nicely for you.”

That’s kinda cute, Rafael thinks. He smiles at him before retreating to the shower. 

When he gets out and gets dressed in the same suit that he wore yesterday, he heads toward the smell of pancakes. “You’re making me breakfast? How considerate of you.” Barba notes as he walks into the kitchen. 

“Well for the both of us really.” Sonny remarks as he hands a plate to Rafael. 

They eat together remarking on what they put on their pancakes and other food combinations. Apparently Sonny likes peanut butter on his pancakes. It’s comfortable, nice and they end up playing a bit of Animal Crossing before Barba goes home because he has to change and he has a meeting with the DA at four. 

“Maybe you should be sending really passive aggressive notes to him. I’m sure he’ll get a kick out of it.” Sonny says right before he inserts some pancake into his mouth. “If I wanted to lose my job maybe. I think he’s scared of me.” Barba muses. 

They finish up and Rafael goes home with the promise to Sonny that he’ll call him later.

~

He’s been in a month long relationship with Sonny and he’s still hasn’t told Liv about it. She’s still been teasing about this mysterious crush on someone. And she still doesn’t know that he’s been in a relationship with this crush for a while now. Sonny has remarked that he feels kinda guilty not directly telling any of them. Rafael understands, that’s why he brought up the topic of disclosure forms right then and there.

They both agreed and became excited about it. There was no conflict of interest since they became a couple, but that doesn’t mean people are gonna accuse them of one. They barely worked on any cases together at all. Sonny never had to go on the witness stand either. They were lucky that this was going to be the least painful disclosure ever. And they decided to have fun with announcing their relationship.

The next day Rafael called Liv. “Hello?” Liv said into the receiver. He could hear the rustling of papers in the background. “Hey Liv do you think you could do a favor for me?” He asks with his emotions in check. He’s excited about this but, he’s gotta keep up the jerk with a heart of gold act. 

“Yeah sure, what do you need?”

“I need a copy of some disclosure forms.”

The shuffling of papers in the background suddenly stops. Rafael bites his lip to prevent himself from laughing. 

“Are you dating your crush now? And they work with you?” She ludicrously asks. 

“I shouldn’t kiss and tell should I? Don’t worry I’ll tell you later today.” He adds with the biggest smile on his face. Barba can imagine that Liv is incidentally micking his smile. 

“I’ll get the papers, get over here as soon as you can.” Liv hangs up, leaving Barba in his office giddy. 

Carisi is already there talking to Rollins. According to Sonny she doesn’t know either and he’s agreed to wait until Rafael reveals to Liv. As Barba struts in, he makes eye contact with Sonny for a split second before quietly going into Liv’s office. The calm before the storm. 

As soon as the door is shut, Liv jumps on him. “Ok tell me, what ADA has caught your eye?” She’s so happy for him. It warms his heart. His cold, cold heart. “Man? Woman?” She is also one of the few people who knows that he’s bisexual. 

Barba smirks and sits down. “Man. Now the forms.” She smiles even wider as she gathers the papers and hands them to him. He leans forward and uses the table in front of him. As he signs Liv says, “So what’s he like?”

It doesn't take long to finish the forms, all he needs is Sonny’s signature. “He’s cute, he’s silly, and he’s strong. Truly all the boxes are checked.” Liv snorts and adds, “Ok what’s his name? I need details you know?”

“He plays video games in his free time. He doesn’t work in the DA’s office. He’s a cop.” He muses softly. 

Liv perks up at that. She leans forward, her eyebrows furrowing. “Who is it?” She looks so intrigued.

Barba smirks, he loves toying with people. “Carisi.”

She gasps then gasps another time for dramaticism. “What?! Are you joking with me?”

Barba gives up on holding back his laugh. “No! I’m not. I can get disclosure forms anywhere, why do you think I got them here?”

She thinks for a second and shakes her head. Liv still doesn’t believe it. “So you can tell me and get Carisi to sign the forms.” She trails off.

Barba stands up, taking the forms with him. “Now if you excuse me I’ve got to get Carisi’s signature.” 

He takes his leave to the door, Liv still speechless. This is so much fun. And Sonny gets to tell one of his closest friends from work now. He walks out to see Amanda and Sonny still talking, she’s not freaking out so he still hasn’t told her yet. He walks toward him and smiles warmly, making eye contact. He smiles back and turns to Rollins. “Hey can I tell you something?”

She breaks her questioning gaze from the counselor. “Yeah what’s up?”

“You know that crush I told you I've been harboring for awhile now?”

She shoots a look to Barba who is literally standing right next to him. “Yeah?” She draws the word out purposely. She’s also saying, ‘Why are talking about that? Your rival is standing right next to you.’. Sonny ignores her. “You want to meet him?”

Her eyes nearly jump out of their sockets. “Him?”

“Well I talked to him and now we are together.” He smiles proudly.

“Carisi I had no idea you were…” She once again trials off.

“Bisexual, gay? I’m not quite sure myself.” He scratches at the back of his neck. “Anyway do you want to meet him? You can meet him right now actually.” He’s so excited and Rafael can’t help but give a genuine smile. 

“Uhh yeah, sure why not we have time.” She checks her watch. When she finishes that sentence Liv stumbles out of her office still clearly shell-shocked. 

Barba notices her and his smile turns mischievous. Sonny doesn’t notice Liv and puts his hands on Rafael’s upper arms. “Well you already met him. Know him.” 

She rolls her eyes and scoffs. “You are in on this joke Barba? Good one Carisi, I’ll start planning my next prank for you.” She doesn’t believe him. They smile even wider. “No I’m serious Amanda. I’m in a relationship with him.” He moves his hands around Barba’s waist. She full on laughs now. Liv comes up, “You tell Rollins?”

“Yeah but, she doesn’t believe us.” Rafael tells her. Rollins clearly didn’t hear that conversation, she’s still laughing too hard. 

As she’s calming down, Sonny speaks up. “Yeah, well, I know how to prove it.”

Rollins shakes her head, “Ok Barba you can take your money and move on.”

Sonny doesn’t budge. “I’m serious.”

At last she finally tries to believe it, but is still clearly a skeptic. Sonny can fix that. He angles their bodies and flushes his next to Barba’s and goes into a deep kiss. Full on making out. Normally Rafael would be kinda uncomfortable with this kind of public affection, but he’s got something to prove. Barba deepens the kiss even further and he can hear the girls gasp beside him. He’s got his eyes closed, all he’s focusing is the kiss and their reactions. It seems to go on forever and he doesn’t want it too end. Unfortunately Sonny pulls away and looks to the side. Rafael follows his amused look to see two women flabbergasted. 

Their mouths are open and their eyes are wide. Rollins shakes her head, closes her mouth and says, “Ok I believe you now. There’s no way in hell Barba would get paid to kiss you Carisi.”

Liv brings her lips into a smile, “Well I’m happy for you. Don’t let anyone bring you two down, alright?”

All caring a slightly motherly. Crap he’s gotta tell his mom now. Sonny meanwhile takes it upon himself to sign the disclosure forms. “Wow, you filled everything out too. How nice of you.”

He hands them to Liv and Rollins says, “Seriously guys, I’m happy for you too.” She grins and shakes her head. “I wonder what Fin is going to say.”

As Liv goes back into her office and as Amanda takes a call, Sonny and Rafael turn to each other. 

“Well that’s over with. Now what?” Barba sighs.

“Right now? Get back to work. For the future?” Sonny purses his lips. “I have no idea. Play Animal Crossing?”

Barba rolls his eyes then quickly gives him a goodbye kiss and takes his leave.

~

“Rita. If your client wants a deal it’s a little too late now.”

Barba is on a bench, waiting right outside the courtroom. Playing what else, Animal Crossing.

“No, if I wanted a deal I would have gone behind your back and talked to your boyfriend.” She snarks back. 

Sonny, who was sitting right next to Rafael, also playing Animal Crossing says, “Hey now, leave me out of your bickering.”

“Besides I’d doubt that he’ll backstab me just to appease a defense lawyer anyway.”

“That’s right, I would never.”

“Thank you sweetheart.” Barba smiles warmly.

Calhoun rolls her eyes. “Alright we get it, you’re in love. I wanted to discuss the fact that you have no evidence. And your case---”

“Is perfectly fine. We have 3 reliable witnesses who are willing to testify and DNA evidence that your guy raped her.” Sonny says, not even looking up from his game. 

Barba turns his gaze from his significant other to a frustrated Rita. He doesn’t say anything, he just gives a wide smile that continues after she leaves. 

“Thank you. Have you caught a coelacanth yet? It’s raining in my town so I’m trying to get one.” Barba says turning back to Sonny.

“No problem. And no I haven’t, been trying for awhile now. Nothing but seabass.” 

“It’s annoying how many there are. They breed like rabbits apparently.”

“Well we just throw them back into the water and they survive. So it’s not like we are helping deplete the population.”

Their conversation continues it stays nice and sweet. A minute later they are called back in for court.

~

“What are you doing?”

Barba’s putting on his a maroon red tie, standing behind the couch as he watches Sonny play a game. He’s actually has clothes at his place now. He’s got to head in a little early for work today and Sonny doesn’t have to go to work until another hour. He’s just a tiny bit jealous.

“Playing Animal Crossing. This is the first in the series, on the Gamecube. My sisters gave it back to me a few days ago.”

The game looked a little outdated compared to New Leaf, but the staples are all there. It looks different, it sounds different, and there’s different mechanics gameplay wise. Rafael abruptly realizes that Sonny got him to recognize video game talk. Damn you Sonny.

“Hey that reminds me. Do you want to meet my family anytime soon. I’m I know we’ve only been dating for, like, 5 months now but,---”

“I would love too.” That catches him off guard.

“My family can be a bit of a handful and I don’t wanna---”

“Sonny, it’s fine. I would love to meet your family.”

He smiles warmly at him then continues to his game. Rafael checks his watch, “Well I’ve got to got to go. See you later, enjoy your game, ok?” Barba leans down over the couch and gives a quick and chaste kiss to Sonny’s temple. He doesn’t even look back, he just smiles and says, “See you later Rafi.”

~ ~ ~


End file.
